1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from my Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech. Is time for the 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: tech news for Thursday, April twenty second one, and long 6 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: time Tech Stuff listeners know that I'm not really an 7 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: Apple user. Heck, way back in the day, when Chris 8 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 1: Palette was my co host, we would receive listener feedback, 9 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,599 Speaker 1: which is a kind way of putting it that accused 10 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: me of having an anti macbias. Actually made it kind 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: of a joke for a long time. And this episode 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:56,279 Speaker 1: is absolutely not affiliated with or sponsored by Apple. With 13 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: all that out of the way, let me gush a 14 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: bit about what Apple showed off this week during their 15 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: spring Loaded event. We're gonna start off with the new Imax, 16 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:11,279 Speaker 1: which are just beautifully designed machines. Apple has always paid 17 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: super close attention to esthetics. The new Imax reminds me 18 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: a bit of the classic iMac G three computers from 19 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: the late nineties and early two thousand's. These were all 20 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: in one computers, so monitor and CPU and all that 21 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,679 Speaker 1: stuff all in one package, and it was the big 22 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: monitor style, you know, like the CRT style monitors, and 23 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: there were several translucent case colors that you could choose from. 24 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,480 Speaker 1: They also follow in the style of the later iMac 25 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: all in ones, which went with the flat display form 26 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: factor with all the computer parts built in. So now 27 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: you've got this flat and incredibly thin. The new Imax 28 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: are like less than twelve millimeters thick, but you've got 29 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: this flat display, and you can choose one that has 30 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: a back that has a bright color to it, kind 31 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: of like smartphones do. I happen to really like the 32 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: purple one. You can get matching accessories for it as well, 33 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,799 Speaker 1: like the keyboard and mouse will have accents that complement 34 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: the color scheme of your computer. Now the thing just 35 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: looks gorgeous to me. It also has a really neat 36 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: feature that I like. The computer uses its sensors to 37 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: detect changes in environmental lighting. So if you're working in 38 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: a space that has a lighting profile that changes over time, 39 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: like you are working in an office that has a window, well, 40 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: the iMac will dynamically adjust stuff like screen brightness and 41 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: color balance and contrast. So for folks who work in 42 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:55,359 Speaker 1: digital photography or video production, those are really important considerations. 43 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: Back in our office in the old days, the video 44 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: team would work in a darkened area sometimes you just 45 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: call it the cave, because they needed to make sure 46 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,079 Speaker 1: they knew exactly what their monitor settings were in order 47 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: to get the best result from editing. And if the 48 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: lighting kept changing, you might end up having two shots 49 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: that have mismatched color balance or white balance. Anyway, these 50 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: computers look amazing, and if I were in the space 51 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: to upgrade the old iMac I have, I would jump 52 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: on this. But all that being said, I'm not really 53 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 1: in the Apple ecosystem. The iMac I have is from 54 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: like the early mid two thousand's era, and I haven't 55 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: touched it in years. So while I feel the urge 56 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: to splurge, as it were, I don't think I can 57 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: justify it for myself. These are expensive computers. They start 58 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: at twelve nine for a base model that has four 59 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: color options, or you could pay almost fift dollars for 60 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: the upgraded models with more color options. Now that's not 61 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: ridiculously expensive for a new computer, but it's probably more 62 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: money than I should pay just because I think they 63 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: look pretty. I need to have a better reason than that. 64 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: But maybe I'll do a side hustle and save up 65 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: my pennies to get one anyway, because I mean, they're 66 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:22,799 Speaker 1: so pretty. I also do not own an Apple TV device. Lord, 67 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: do I have a four K television. In fact, my 68 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 1: television doesn't have HDR, doesn't support high frame rate, none 69 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: of that stuff anyway. All that being said, the announcements 70 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,239 Speaker 1: regarding the new Apple TV four K, which does support 71 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: HDR and high frame rate, also included something that I 72 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: thought was super cool. All right, so the device lets 73 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: you stream content to your television or download stuff to 74 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: the Apple TV device, and then you can view it 75 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 1: on your super fancy television. All of that is standard. 76 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: None of that is new stuff. But the thing that 77 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: impressed me is that Apple has built in a tool 78 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: that automates sort of like the TV settings like brightness, contrast, 79 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: and color balance. Using an iPhone, Apple TV owners can 80 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: do a sort of automated calibration. But it's not affecting 81 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: the TV settings itself. What it does is it measures 82 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:20,039 Speaker 1: the color balance that your television is outputting, you know, 83 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 1: the brightness, the white balance, all these sort of things. 84 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: The contrast, the iPhone could pick that up and then 85 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,159 Speaker 1: adjust the video streaming to the television, so the settings 86 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: of the video so that the TV displays video that 87 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: is close to industry standard specifications. So again it's not 88 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: changing the settings of the television set, but rather the 89 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: video feed so that it shows up on your TV 90 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: the way that the creators of various films and television 91 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 1: shows intended. And I think this is phenomenal. It's a 92 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: pretty common experience for people to get television home from 93 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: the store. They set it up, and then they sit 94 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:04,239 Speaker 1: down and watch and they feel like the picture quality 95 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: just isn't as good at home as it was in 96 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: the store. Well, getting the settings just right for your 97 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: particular viewing environment takes a little bit of effort, and 98 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: it's not necessarily intuitive or easy, particularly depending on the 99 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: model of the television. The user interface for some of 100 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: these TVs gets to the point where you could spend 101 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: hours trying to tweak settings and and not be any 102 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,279 Speaker 1: better result by the end of the day. And all 103 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:34,039 Speaker 1: of that means that you're going to have a less 104 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,239 Speaker 1: than optimal viewing experience. So this new feature for Apple 105 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: TV helps you get around that by having the stream 106 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: adjust for the jankie settings of your television, which happened 107 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: to like a lot. Oh, and then there's the iPad Pro. Heck, 108 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 1: I'm on record years ago saying the iPad would be 109 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: a flop. It is one of the dumbest things I've 110 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: ever said on this show. And if you've been listening 111 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 1: for a long time, you know that comes up against 112 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,239 Speaker 1: some pretty stiff competition. But I want to talk about 113 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: a feature that Apple calls center Stage, and it involves 114 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: using the iPad Pro as a video camera. Now, I 115 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: know there's this social stigma attached to using a tablet 116 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: as a camera, and I get that, but this is 117 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: kind of neat The iPad Pro has a wide angle 118 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: lens which lets you get a really good field of 119 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: view of a scene. So imagine you set up an 120 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: iPad Pro to act as your video camera as you 121 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: do some sort of you know, YouTube style video. The 122 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 1: example that Apple used was a cooking video which was perfect. 123 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: Center Stage has the iPad Pro digitally punch in, zooming 124 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: in and effectively cropping out the edges of the field 125 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: of view so that you are in the center of 126 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: the frame. But because we're talking about a wide angle lens, 127 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: that gives you the freedom to move a little bit 128 00:07:57,800 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: to the left and to the right. You've got some 129 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: face there, and the iPad pro can digitally pan the perspective, 130 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: keeping you near the center of the frame even as 131 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: you move around. It's kind of the same effect as 132 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: if there were someone operating a camera and they were 133 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: panning the camera to keep you in view. If someone 134 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: else happens to join you in the video, the iPad 135 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: pro can digitally zoom out and keep you both inside 136 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: the frame of you. It's like having an automated camera operator. 137 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: So I can see that being really handy for certain 138 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: types of single creator videos like a SMR artists or 139 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,960 Speaker 1: cooking videos or maker videos, and I think that is 140 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: super neat. Apple had a lot of other stuff to 141 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: talk about as well. They had a purple iPhone, as 142 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 1: in the back of the iPhone is purple, and they 143 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,200 Speaker 1: also showed off air tags, which are little tokens you 144 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: can attach to stuff like your keys, or maybe put 145 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: one inside your wallet or your purse, and when you 146 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,199 Speaker 1: can't find those things, like when that happens, you can 147 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 1: use your iPhone that's paired with that tag to track 148 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: down where it is. Apple's version gives you an indicator 149 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 1: that tells you what direction the lost object can be 150 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: found in. So you have a little arrow that says, 151 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,839 Speaker 1: go this way, and it also tells you how far 152 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: away you are from it. It gives you like a 153 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: distance meter, and it includes haptic feedback as you start 154 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: to get closer, which is kind of like it's saying 155 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: you're getting warmer. You're getting warmer as you know, you 156 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: get close to whatever it is you lost. Now, these 157 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: kind of tags aren't exactly new. Tile does something similar, 158 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: and in fact, there is some ongoing kerfuffle related to this, 159 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: but I'll have to cover that in a later episode 160 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: because it's just breaking news as I record this. But 161 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 1: Apple's app approach is more precise than what I have 162 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: seen in other implementations. Anyway, most of the stuff I 163 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: mentioned will be available for order by the end of April, 164 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: and a lot of it won't actually start shipping until 165 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: the second half of May. And a again, I am 166 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,320 Speaker 1: not an Apple guy, but I do admit some of 167 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:08,199 Speaker 1: these things sound kind of cool and useful for specific applications, 168 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: specific use cases, specific types of users. I just don't 169 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: happen to fall into those categories, but I do encourage 170 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: folks who do fall into those categories to look into 171 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,840 Speaker 1: it further. However, we have some other tech news to 172 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 1: touch on. Over in the UK, TikTok is in some 173 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: legal trouble and Longfield, who is the former Children's Commissioner 174 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: for Britain, has filed a lawsuit that alleges TikTok has 175 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,560 Speaker 1: collected personal information of children who are using the app, 176 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,439 Speaker 1: which is a huge no no in the UK and 177 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:46,839 Speaker 1: the European Union. The lawsuit seeks out a staggering one 178 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: billion dollars and damages from the company to cover for 179 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: the data collection that has been going on since May ofen. 180 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: According to the allegations, the collected data includes stuff that 181 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,840 Speaker 1: you would expect like tele phone numbers, location information, and 182 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: of course the videos actually shared through the app. But 183 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: Longfield argues that this process is not communicated clearly to 184 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 1: the user and moreover goes to great links to make 185 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 1: it unclear what the company is actually doing with all 186 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: the data it's collecting. The lawsuit seeks to force TikTok 187 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 1: to stop the practice of collecting data that's originating from 188 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:30,319 Speaker 1: children using the app. This is at best a complicated solution. 189 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: For TikTok to work, it has to be able to 190 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 1: collect some information, even if all it's doing is enabling 191 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,959 Speaker 1: the basic features of the app. A total halt could 192 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: mean that TikTok simply won't be able to find a 193 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: way to make things work for younger users, which in 194 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 1: turn creates the problem of how do you make sure 195 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: that TikTok has an age gate that it's restricted to 196 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: people who are of age, which is a thorny issue. 197 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: TikTok representatives say that the allegations are misleading and that 198 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 1: the company will quote vigorously defend the action end quote. 199 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: That's to be expected. There's no surprise there. As for 200 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: what I think, well, all major social media platforms are 201 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 1: ultimately in the business of collecting user data and then 202 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 1: leveraging that data in order to generate revenue. That's the 203 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 1: nature of the business, and I agree that when it 204 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 1: comes to children, this is a huge problem. It's one 205 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: thing for an adult to understand the consequences and implications 206 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:36,079 Speaker 1: of sharing so much information, although I would argue that 207 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: a lot of adults, perhaps the vast majority of them, 208 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:45,480 Speaker 1: don't really understand this fully or appreciate it fully. However, 209 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 1: it's definitely a challenge for a child to understand it, 210 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: and I am not actually sure what the right solution 211 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 1: is here. Though, if TikTok could somehow have like an 212 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:00,200 Speaker 1: age gate on their side that prevented the company from 213 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: collecting data about younger users, I'd be in favor of that. 214 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: I just don't know how realistic that is. Meanwhile, over 215 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,640 Speaker 1: here in America, the Federal Communications Commission, or f c C, 216 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: is making some moves to tackle the seriously annoying and 217 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: sometimes dangerous practice of robo calls. These automated calls range 218 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: from being a nuisance to enabling various scams and misinformation campaigns. 219 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: And I don't know about you folks out there, but 220 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: for me, it has meant that if I'm getting a 221 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 1: phone call and I do not recognize the phone number, 222 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:38,680 Speaker 1: I do not answer the phone. I just let those 223 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: calls go to voicemail, and miraculously, about nent of calls 224 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: never leave a message. This convinces me that whatever the 225 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: call was couldn't have been important, or else they would 226 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: take the effort to leave a message. Meanwhile, I'm getting 227 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: between five and twelve calls from numbers I don't recognize 228 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: every single day. Well, everyone is fed up with that, 229 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: including people in the government. So what exactly is the 230 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: f c C doing. Well, it's kind of passing on 231 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: that responsibility to the telecommunications companies, which makes sense. So 232 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: the idea is that the f CC will create a 233 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 1: database or actually has created a database, that all voice 234 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: providers will have to use. The database is the Robocall 235 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 1: Mitigation Database, which sounds almost like it's a futuristic kind 236 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: of police force, but no, this is a document or 237 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 1: a database that phone companies will use to keep the 238 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: FCC informed on their individual robocall mitigation programs. Starting on 239 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: September one, phone companies quote must refuse to accept traffic 240 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: from voice service providers not listed in the Robocall Mitigation 241 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: Database end quote. So in other words, if you fail 242 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: to meet these FCC requirements, you don't get on that list. 243 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: If you're or a phone voice provider, then if you're 244 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: not on the list, you don't get in. That means 245 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: like your calls will not go through to other people. 246 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 1: The rules also involved incorporating protocols that will verify that 247 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 1: phone numbers are coming from where they claim they're coming 248 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: from before it can go to a customer. So you 249 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,040 Speaker 1: might be aware of the practice of spoofing. That's when 250 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: a robocaller uses a sort of mask for the phone number. 251 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: They will often end up using a phone number that's 252 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: similar to yours in an effort to get you to 253 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 1: pick up the phone. So you might get an incoming 254 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: call and you're like, hey, this phone number is just 255 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: a couple of digits off from mine, it must be local. 256 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: I'm going to go ahead and answer. It turns out 257 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: it's coming from who knows where, and that phone number 258 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: was spoofed. Well, these protocols will let phone companies verify 259 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: that a call that claims it's coming from a number 260 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 1: that's just two digits off from your number is really 261 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: in fact from that phone number. If it isn't, it's 262 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: got to be blocked. That's the kind of idea there. 263 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: So the message here to phone companies is you have 264 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: the tools and you have until June one to get 265 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 1: them all in place, and if you do then you'll 266 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: be on this list. But if you fail to do it, 267 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: you won't be on the list, which means calls through 268 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: your services are just gonna be blocked to all the 269 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: other phone providers out there. This is an interesting approach. 270 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: It is one that worries me a little bit just 271 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: for innocent customers of phone voice providers. I mean, they 272 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,040 Speaker 1: are not necessarily culpable for robocall practices that are carried 273 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: out on that same service, but they depend on that 274 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: phone service. I'm not sure how you work around that, Like, 275 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 1: how do you make sure that the innocent customers who 276 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: are affected by this are still able to communicate to 277 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: folks using the phone. I don't know what the answer 278 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,320 Speaker 1: is there, but it is an interesting approach and I 279 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: will continue to cover this story. If you live in 280 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:02,120 Speaker 1: Seattle and you shop at Whole Foods, you might be 281 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: able to pay for your artisanal groceries with the wave 282 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: of your hand. Amazon is piloting a payment program called 283 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,400 Speaker 1: Amazon One at a few Whole Foods stores in Seattle. 284 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 1: Customers who opt in can link a credit card or 285 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:21,240 Speaker 1: Amazon account to their palm print, essentially so then after 286 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 1: having their groceries rung up after they've done shopping, they 287 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:29,439 Speaker 1: can run their palms over as payment. They scan the 288 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,960 Speaker 1: palm and the money comes from the connected card or 289 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,719 Speaker 1: Amazon account. Amazon has already used this technology for a 290 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: few of its pilot stores that operate without cashiers, and 291 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: the company says that the tech could end up being 292 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:46,439 Speaker 1: used in other locations such as sporting events and such. 293 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: Not in a way, I think that approach could help 294 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: down on practices like scalping and the whole resale market, 295 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: which could mean that for stuff like you know, sporting 296 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:01,399 Speaker 1: events and theater events, that the folks who really want 297 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 1: to go to those events but constantly find it difficult 298 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: to get tickets because scalpers have bought up huge banks 299 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: of them might have a better chance. But then you 300 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: could also say that whenever you start incorporating biometrics into 301 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 1: payment plans, it gets a little creepy, so there can 302 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,160 Speaker 1: be a negative response, which I think is totally understandable 303 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: and justifiable. Some groups are already expressing concerns about issues 304 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:33,919 Speaker 1: like privacy or potentially with hackers, so there are legitimate 305 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: objections to this. Uh, the questions would I use this 306 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: kind of process, I mean probably, I've used similar processes 307 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: for lots of other stuff, like when I travel on airlines, 308 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: for example. But that's me, and that's my personal choice. 309 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: I wouldn't blame anyone else for saying, yeah, I'm not 310 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,440 Speaker 1: comfortable doing that, And I think that's you know, a 311 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,880 Speaker 1: valid response and it comes up to individual preference. Finally, 312 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:02,760 Speaker 1: some of you gamers out there might be fans of 313 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 1: an old game called Cotour a K Nights of the 314 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:11,639 Speaker 1: Old Republic. This is an action RPG games set in 315 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: the Star Wars universe. The story takes place thousands of 316 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: years before the events of the film franchise, so it 317 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 1: doesn't involve any of the characters from the Star Wars movies. 318 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: The original game, produced by BioWare, published way back in 319 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,320 Speaker 1: two thousand three, and now it sounds like there is 320 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:31,120 Speaker 1: a remake in the works held by a Spear Media. 321 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:34,679 Speaker 1: That company is best known for producing ports. So in 322 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 1: the video game world, developers frequently focus on making a 323 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 1: specific game for a specific platform like Windows, PCs or 324 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:46,919 Speaker 1: the PlayStation or whatever, and they spend a lot of 325 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: time and money and other resources to make the game. 326 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 1: But of course, there are lots of platforms for games 327 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: out there, and most of them are not compatible with 328 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: the other ones. So if the company wants their game 329 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 1: to be available across all platforms, they have to port 330 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: the game over, essentially rebuilding the game for other platforms. Now, 331 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: sometimes that can be done without having to recreate lots 332 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: of the game other times, it's a more involved process, 333 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:17,880 Speaker 1: and many game studios don't have the time to do 334 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,359 Speaker 1: all of this internally, so they contract that work out 335 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,479 Speaker 1: to other studios like Asper Media. But this sounds like 336 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: it's not just a port to let players run the 337 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: game on modern hardware. This sounds like Asper Media is 338 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 1: actually going the extra step to remake the game, presumably 339 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:39,639 Speaker 1: so that the effects and gameplay are brought up to 340 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 1: speed with more recent trends in the video game space. 341 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: I'm pretty excited about this. Nights of the Old Republic 342 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,199 Speaker 1: was a game I really enjoyed. I liked how the 343 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 1: game asks you to make various judgment calls, and based 344 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 1: on your decisions and gameplay, you might find yourself becoming 345 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: an enlightened Jedi master or a vicious and ruthless Sith warrior, 346 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,119 Speaker 1: or perhaps something in between. So I'm really looking forward 347 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 1: to seeing the outcome. Well that's a selection of stories 348 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: for Thursday, April twenty one. A reminder out there that 349 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 1: if you have any suggestions for future topics that I 350 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,159 Speaker 1: should tackle and tech Stuff, reach out to me and 351 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,359 Speaker 1: let me know. The best way to do that is 352 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: on Twitter. The handle for the show is tech Stuff H. 353 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: S W and I'll talk to you again really soon. 354 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,360 Speaker 1: Text Stuff is an I heart Radio production. For more 355 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 356 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.